Warrens
The most commonly understood definition of Warren was a realm from which mages, priests, shamans, and the like, who might use magic, drew their power. "Warren" could refer to either the physical other-world that could be travelled to, or to the form of magic which could be shaped by someone who could channel a Warren. Structurally these Warrens were divided into two classes, the Elder Warrens, which were associated with a particular race, and the Paths, which were those Warrens most commonly accessed by humans and which were derived from K'rul's blood. Although not all realms described as Warrens fit that description, The Abyss was named a Warren but seemed to be used only as a means of travel rather than a source of power. It is also possible that there was a difference on how some Warrens like the Abyss were created. Human magic needed no rituals, motions, or words to be cast. All that was required was access to a Warren. Most mages were born with a natural affinity towards a specific Warren, although some were able to draw on more than one. Extremely rare was a mage who could call on every Warren as Beak was able to do. When a mage wished to use magical power, he or she opened themselves to a Warren (most could only access one or two) by willing into being a portal through which the magical energy flowed. Initially it was a case of opening themselves to the Warren that would come, that would find them. Drawing as much power as body and soul could contain, the wielder had to remember that the gate would close should the body fail.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.78 The skills to access the Warrens could be taught, but it was much more common for someone to just be born with the Talent.Night of Knives, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.74 statement by Temper Sorcery had a magical signature and adepts were able to discern different users.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.194 Types of Warrens The Paths The Paths were those Warrens which were most easily accessible to human mages and priests and used as a source of power. * Aral Gamelain — The Path of Demons * Denul — The Path of Healing * D'riss — The Path of Stone * Hood's Path — The Path of Death * Meanas — The Path of Shadow and Illusion * Mockra — the Path of the Mind * Rashan — The Path of Darkness * Ruse — The Path of the Sea * Serc — The Path of the Sky * Telas — The Path of Fire * Tennes — The Path of the Land * Thyr — The Path of Light Additionally there was Fener's Warren, which could be channelled like the other Paths and was said to border Chaos itself. Elder Warrens Realms which were mostly used by some of the older races. Some of these Warrens were also described as Holds. According to Imperial Adjunct Lorn, the Warrens of the Imass (T'lan Imass) were similar to those of the Jaghut and the Forkrul Assail i.e. Elder, that is to say, blood-, and earthbound.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 9, UK MMPB p.277 * Ahkrast Korvalain — Forkrul Assail Hold. * Denaeth Rusen — Elder Warren of the Seas, Mael's Warren. * Kaschan — K'Chain Che'Malle Elder Warren, "Born of sounds beyond our hearing". * Kurald Galain — Tiste Andii Elder Warren of DarknessGardens of the Moon, Glossary, UK MMPB p.707 * Kurald Liosan/Kurald Thyrllan — Tiste Liosan Elder Warren of Light. * Kurald Emurlahn — Tiste Edur Elder Warren of Shadow.Deadhouse Gates, Glossary, UK MMPB p.938 The Shattered Warren. * Omtose Phellack — Jaghut Elder Warren of Ice, also used by the Stormriders. * Starvald Demelain — The Tiam Warren, the First Warren, Warren of Dragons and Chaos. * Tellann — T'lan Imass Elder Warren of Fire. Other Warrens * The Abyss — A Warren with no guardian and sometimes used for travelling because of that. * Barghast Warren — Formerly a forgotten Warren of the Barghast.Memories of Ice, Chapter 11 * Chaos — Primordial Warrens. * Imperial Warren — A dead Warren recently discovered by the Malazan Empire and used by them for travelling. * Thelomen Toblakai Warrens Terminology *Adept - mostly used to specifically describe those able to interpret the Deck of Dragons, not all magic users were Adepts in that sense.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.110Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 9, UK MMPB p.295 The term was however also used to describe someone good at using magic in a more general way.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 11, US HC p.265 *Gate - term used to describe openings in and out of a Warren *High Ward - stronger form of protective spellGardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.165 *Talent - someone capable of accessing magic *Touched - the common slang for anyone who knew the Warrens *Ward - a spell of protective magic *Weaving - combining the efforts of several mages to achieve a stronger effect Effects of Warren usage Effects of Warren usage on the user Initially, opening up to a Warren and feeling the power might sweep away a user's fatigue or fear,Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.164/165 however, using Warrens was physically tiring. After the last battle at Pale, Tattersail felt as if she had been beaten with clubs for the last two hours.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.78 Effects on mages of exposure to other Warrens When a Warren bristling with extreme power was being unveiled, a practitioner might experience a warning, like a bitter taste on the tongue for example. These instances, where power would arrive groaning and deadly, always indicated the arrival of a god on mortal soil.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.78/79 When the Hound, Gear, attacked Tattersail's High Wards, she could feel the cracks streak outwards and the fissures reaching through her arms and chest with a snapping sound instantly replaced by spurting blood.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.165 Tattersail surmised that it was Hairlock's subsequent unleashing of the Warren of Chaos which then left her weakened and with a fever as Chaos was diametrically opposed to her own Warren, if one thought of Warrens as being structured.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.168 Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 9, UK MMPB p.279/282 Users might also be sensitive to the use of less powerful magic by others and experience sensory reactions. *Calot's eyes watered *Gear's hackles would stiffenGardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.161 *Tattersail would get a migraine headache *Tiste Andii mages could sniff the opening of a small rent through which Oponn's coin dropped at the feet of CrokusGardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.187 *Baruk's head was pounding with blood, lancing him with pain and he felt an enormous pressure upon the arrival by Warren of Anomander Rake.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.209 He also had a headache when Oponn resisted his Warren and destroyed the wax imprint of the coin. Baruk used healing tea to combat headaches.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.250-252 Reactions might be worse when the Warrens in question were anathema to each other.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.63 Visual perceptions Tattersail perceived Quick Ben's sorcery as bleeding a strange, swirling flavor.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.135 On another occasion he emerged from a swirling cloud which held a strange spicy scent.Gardens of the Moon,Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.146 When Hairlock attacked Gear, a wave of grey light struck the Hound and a miasma churned into Tattersail like pestilence. The chaotic Warren radiated from Hairlock in visible pulses of grainy grey shot through with black.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.166 When Crone approached Darujhistan, the emanation of sorcery she detected among the estates was described as aquamarine.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.194 Uses of Warren magic Travelling by Warren Warrens were frequently used by characters for travelling.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.31 When the Hound Gear exited a Warren, it was described as a savage parting of the fabric and his arrival heralded by two muted thunderclaps.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.160/161 When Gear left, the opening of the Warren was again described with a fabric analogy, the term used being 'a dark rift opened around him with the sound of tearing burlap'.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.167 Once within the Warren, the mage visualized specific details of the intended destination and as they physically traveled they were brought closer to their goal. The farther a destination in the real world, the longer the trip required within the Warren.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 12, US HC p.332 Additionally, the "primordial elements asserted an intractable consistency across all Warrens. Land to land, air to air, water to water." For example, if one entered a Warren by ship, then one journeyed through the Warren by sea. Entered by foot or on horseback, then travel would be by land.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 11, US HC p.280 It was possible to travel to a moving ship, although few were able to manage this difficult task.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.94 The Warrens of Chaos were the miasmic paths between the Warrens.Gardens of the Moon, Glossary, UK MMPB p.709 A mage travelling through Chaos would weaken the other Warrens allowing the mage to break in and out of them at will, as shown by Hairlock.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.127 Protection and preservation Warrens were used to set protective wards, both for peopleGardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.165 as well as property.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.198 A Warren could be used to set a sealing spell.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 3, UK MMPB p.103 But wards were susceptible to physical forces. A sufficiently powerful force, such as a Moranth munition, was capable of shattering a ward by eliminating the pattern the magic depended on.House of Chains, Chapter 9, US SFBC p.376-377 Weaving Multiple mages accessing their Warrens together to produce an effect beyond the ability of a single mage were said to be "weaving". Generally, this required a period of preparation or ritual and was not performed off the cuff. Participants did not have to all be accessing the same Warren, but at least one mage was required to weave the work of the others into a cohesive effect.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 3 Examples included the Pannion Domin mage cadre preparing for battle at the Siege of CoralMemories of Ice, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.865 and the mages who combined their skills to guide an entire ship through the Warren of Serc in Return of the Crimson Guard. Magic weapons According to Ceda Kuru Qan, the use of sorcery to invest weapons with magical power was fraught with difficulty. Iron itself resisted magical imposition. Additionally, sorcery thrived on flaws, "whether structural in the physical sense, or metaphorical in the thematic sense." Consequently, the better forged an iron weapon the more difficult it was to enchant it. A failed result was a weapon whose investment refused to function and which was then considered cursed.Midnight Tides, Chapter 12, US SFBC p.394 Day to day usage Warrens might be used for mundane tasks such as opening windows.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.198 - example Warrens and Hold magic Origins It transpired the Warrens ran through K'rul's flesh. Any mage traveling through the Warrens was traveling through the arteries and veins of K'rul.Memories of Ice‎, Chapter 7 The power of Warrens was his blood.Memories of Ice‎, Chapter 7 The twin chambers of the heart were Kurald Galain and Starvald Demelain.Memories of Ice‎, Chapter 7 Only a handful of entities knew the truth about the Warrens, amongst them Anomander Rake, Draconus, Osric, and Envy.Memories of Ice, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.327 K'rul created the Warrens with the help of the Eleint, and each Warren was aspected to an Eleint. Once the work was complete, the Eleint "were compelled to return to Starvald Demelain. As the sources of sorcery, they could not be permitted to interfere or remain active across the realms, lest sorcery cease to be predictable, which in turn would feed Chaos—the eternal enemy in this grand scheme." Some aspects were shared with the Soletaken Eleint, forcing the Eleint to share power.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.77-79 Within each aspected dragon was "the heart of the warren itself, its well-fount of power."The Bonehunters, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.232 K'rul was unlikely to have had any hand in the creation of the Elder Warrens. For instance Draconus gifted the Tiste Andii their darkness. In Memories of Ice After being bound to Burn's flesh during the Chaining, the Crippled God became a virulent poison inside her. Burn's Warren was a pathway to all the other Warrens which first began seeing the effects of the Chained One's infection on Genabackis. Rife with Chaos, magic became unpredictable and dangerous.Memories of Ice, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.74Memories of Ice, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.201-202 Access to the Warrens became difficult and mages risked becoming incapacitated with a raving fever.Memories of Ice, Chapter 11, US SFBC p.382Memories of Ice, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.560 Some Warrens, such as the Barghast WarrenMemories of Ice, Chapter 11, US SFBC p.400 and Tellann,Memories of Ice, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.729 did not seem to be affected, while others, such as Hood's Path, were temporarily safe through the efforts of the associated Elder Gods.Memories of Ice, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.884 Ultimately, Burn's fever was broken and slowed by the unveiling of Omtose Phellack within her realm.Memories of Ice, Chapter 25, US SFBC p.967-968 In The Bonehunters The Eleint, Ampelas, revealed that K'rul's blood, from which the Warrens had been shaped, was growing sickly.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.77 Cotillion sought allies against the Crippled God, stating that the god was poisoning the Warrens.The Bonehunters, Chapter 2, US SFBC p.79 Trivia *In Blood and Bone, when Pon-lor told Celeste that he was a mage, she replied, "A mage? Ah — a manipulator of interdimensional leakage."Blood and Bone, Chapter 9, UK MMPB p.518 *Authors Steven Erikson and Ian C. Esslemont devised the Warren-based magic system during their days fleshing out the Malazan world in role-playing games. When asked how the pair got the idea for how magic worked, Erikson stated, "We learned early on to keep it mysterious and mysterious it shall remain." Erikson has argued that when an author defines all the rules of magic "you've lost the purpose of magic in fantasy because the original purpose of magic in fantasy is to invoke a sense of wonder and mystery. And so, once you've explained it all, you've lost it. So, we made a point of never explaining the magic. As you may have noticed."An Evening with Steven Erikson by Nerdaí Irish Nerds - See 37:10 *The Malazan series is intended to take place in a world where sexism does not exist. To accomplish this, the magic system is designed to be egalitarian — something anyone can reach — preventing gender-based hierarchies of power resembling those of the real world.Ten Very Big Books podcast See 42:50 Notes and references es:Sendas de:Gewirr Category:Magic Category:Warrens